"Maybe this is more like how she was before all the bad stuff happened." Janius remarked, "It would surprise me if all her scars had suddenly disappeared, she used to be afraid of the very aspect of her sister before they met again. Interesting." Janius leaned back and lightly paddled through the water with broad strokes, but his eyes were drawn to one side by the sudden commotion from Ahnasha and Fendros. Sabine didn't strike them with a beetle prank as well, did she?

Fendros grinned and laughed along with Ahnasha as he brought both his hands to bear against her. The ticklish assault was cut short when he felt a sharp pain on his leg. He winced and stopped for a moment to look at what had caused it. There was a long, shallow scratch that started to weep blood on his inner thigh. Ahnasha must have accidentally scratched him. Fendros paused to look at it, then looked at Ahnasha. His grin returned. "You're going to have to do better than that!" He said, sitting up a bit more and resuming his assault.

By sunset, Sabine had instructed Ariel on basic survival strokes and how to stay above the water. It was more of a workout than Ariel had anticipated, but she was grateful for the lessons. They might save her life one day. There was still plenty to learn later of course; faster strokes, swimming while completely submerged, generally gaining more confidence in the water. For now, though, Ariel had been taught well enough that she wouldn't panic and sink like a rock if the water was deeper than the length of her body. 

Strangely enough, when they gathered for dinner that night, Sabine's stature was more open in general. She still didn't say anything more than a few words and didn't make eye contact, as usual, but her back was straighter and her shoulders were held further back. The pack got a better look at her face than they normally did. Unfortunately, the improvement only lasted for that day. Whether it was internal worries, or a nightmare during the night, she turned reclusive again by the next day. Ariel asked her about further swimming lessons when there was the occasion, and Sabine agreed to continue them, but the apparent confidence boost had a reduced effect.